This past weekend, American Sniper – the story of Navy SEAL Chris Kyle – released nationwide. It not only set box office records, it also brought back to the forefront of society our responsibility to remember and honor those men and women who have sacrificed so much for us.

Before he was tragically killed, I had the opportunity to sit down and talk one-on-one with this Chris Kyle. And last fall, I was asked to write a small piece for The American Legion Magazine’s “Most Beloved Veterans” issue. Chris Kyle, of course, is one of those veterans.

Below is the article I had the privilege of writing as a tribute to this amazing man …

Chris Kyle was a lot of things to a lot of people. Yet, of everything that can be said about Chris, the one word that stands out is the one word he would never have used about himself: hero. Not in the sense of a man who rushed into a hail of bullets to rescue others (though he did). Not in the sense that his wife and children understand (no one will ever know that depth of Chris).

 Chris Kyle is a hero because in any interaction he ever, it was clear that he had an unwavering faith. And he truly cared for and valued everyone he ever met.

 There was no pretense to Chris Kyle. There was no ‘personality’ to Chris Kyle. There was only the person of Chris Kyle; the kind of person who was genuine, faithful, real. He was the kind of person that had a sense of security and self-assuredness that are only found in a deep faith in Jesus Christ.

 And for that, we can all say “Thank you, Chris Kyle.”

(Featured in “The American Legion Magazine” – November 2014)